News Article

Dutch King Will Open Velo-City 2017

BRUSSEL, Belgium – Co– organised by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) and the Dutch cities of Arnhem and Nijmegen, Velo-city will bring together over 250 speakers from 40 countries for a unique program. This global summit on cycling mobility, taking place June 13 to 16, will be opened with the highest honours by: His Majesty Willem-Alexander the King of the Netherlands.

His Majesty Willem-Alexander the King of the Netherlands will open the Velo-city 2017 next week. – Photo ECF

The full programme of Velo-city 2017 has been released recently by Mayor Bruls from the municipality of Nijmegen and Mayor Staal from the municipality of Arnhem as well as ECF’s Secretary General, Bernhard Ensink.

Creating liveable cities

“The Arnhem – Nijmegen region is more and more turning into one urban system. Cycling plays an important role in creating liveable and human sized cities. We work in close collaboration with the province of Gelderland to establish regional cycling facilities. During Velo-city we cannot only learn and get inspired by all the outstanding content of the program, but we can also show what our region and the Netherlands have to offer. Having His Majesty King as our guest during the Velo-city opening ceremony makes it even more special”.

Results of investments in cycling infrastructure

“At the global cycling summit Velo-city 2017 Arnhem-Nijmegen all participants can experience the results of the systematic development and investments in cycling infrastructure in the Netherlands and share their own experience and knowledge with experts from all over the world”, said ECF’ s Secretary General, Bernhard Ensink.

Global cycling hot spot

Velo-city 2017 Arnhem-Nijmegen will be about ‘The Freedom of Cycling’, with themes like Governance, Infrastructure, People, Bikenomics and Urban Planning being at the center of the conference. During the conference, the first blueprint of a EU Cycling Strategy will be handed over to the European Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc, and over 25 top officials from Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin, Dusseldorf and Kampala as well as ministers

of Brussels and Malta – which currently holds the EU presidency – will share their views during the mayors session.

Impact of cycling on society

Velo-city 2017 is not only to broaden people’s knowledge and network within the world of cycling and sustainable transport, but also to experience the impact of cycling on society and to discuss challenges in the field of designing, financing and managing cycle projects. These topics will be discussed by 200 speakers from more than 40 countries like Thailand, China, Canada, Philippines, India, USA, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Kenya, South Africa, Australia, Singapore, Austria, Denmark, Mexico, Finland, Russia, Italy and Bhutan.